Survey Finds Nearly Half of US Adults Uninsured in 2012

Nearly half of working-age adults, or 84 million adults aged 18-64, were uninsured for at least part of 2012, say authors of a report based on findings from the Commonwealth Fund Biennial Health Insurance Survey of 2012. The survey also found that the number of young adults aged 19-25 without insurance decreased from 13.6 million to 11.7 million, or from 48% to 41% from 2010 to 2012. Nearly 40 million (75%) of low-income workers (incomes under 133% of the federal poverty level) were uninsured or underinsured in 2012; almost 21 million (59%) of moderate-income workers (incomes 133%-249% of poverty level) were underinsured; and 41% of working adults (75 million people) had trouble paying their medical bills or were paying down medical debts in 2012.

The survey was conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International, April 26 through August 19, 2012, via cell phone and landline telephone interviews, in English and Spanish. The sample included 4,432 adults over age 19.

The authors of the report, Insuring the Future: Current Trends in Health Coverage and the Effects of Implementing the Affordable Care Act, concluded that, "The combination of new affordable coverage options and insurance market reforms in the Affordable Care Act has the potential to reverse growth in the number of people who have gaps in their health insurance, are underinsured, spend large shares of their income on premiums, struggle to pay medical bills, delay getting needed care because of cost, and do not have a regular source of health care."